New start fo an old problem. 2010, F-150, 5.4, 5.5' bed. Truck is new to me, used 105K miles. Love the truck, got it to tow TT I was having trouble towing with a shorter wheel base vehicle. Has HD towing package, tows great, good power, stable. First trip out with the TT the ole Shudder in 2nd gear low speed reared it's ugly head. Came here t othe Forum and found a wealth of old post dealing with this problem but NO real solutions.

Has anyone figured it out yet??

Any solutions that don't include throwing parts at it? (no warranty)

I did do the slip joint re-lube with Ford wonder grease.

Thanks for all the information this site provides!

 

I never experienced this problem, I assume it's a 1 pc DS? I have air bags on mine when I tow a heavier dump trailer and haven't had any issues but I only just hit 40k miles. My Air Lift bags were just over $200, maybe worth a try. Hopefully someone will offer a solution. Welcome aboard!

 

Welcome to the forum!

Tim brings up a very good point. When you are towing your drive shaft angle is of course changed and bags may be a good solution for you. I have a 2" shim kit installed from the dealer due to a shudder I was experiencing during normal driving. When I am towing I have air lift air bags to even things out and get the driveshaft angle closer to the unloaded state.

 

It's a two piece drive shaft. Any idea what pinion angle will help. On the race car we would a pinion angle of from -1* to -4 *.

 

It changes the angle of the driveshaft going into the carrier bearing. There are quite a few threads on the subject here on the forum.

 

My last F-150 was a 2010 that did the low speed shudder when towing my travel trailer. Like what was already mentioned, the drive shaft pinion angle was reported to play a big role in that issue. Someone here a few years ago or so said that they lubed the driveshaft yoke with marine grease and it worked, where as the dealer grease job only fixed the shudder for a short time.

 

My 2010 F-150 had the dreaded shudder. Got the 5 Star tune, helped some. Purchased the Firestone air bags. Not that hard to install after I called the help line. Seems you "do" need a BFH to get some pieces to fit. Also, the instructions were written by a 12 year old from China. Measured pinion angle prior to doing any work, 2 deg down. Not much angle at all. Put bags on, added 20psi and the rear raised about 2 in.
Test drive, no shudder. Based on the shudder getting worse while towing (more weight/truck squats) it appears that drive shaft angle has a lot to do with the problem. Maby I'm wrong, time will tell but for now, it seems to be gone.

 

That's good to hear

 

Sorry, I'm a little late to the party.

I bought a used 2013 F-150 Ext cab, 6.5 bed. 2-WD, STX, 5.0L 145" WB with the 6R80 transmission about 2 months ago with 55k miles. Runs and drives beautifully. Only complaint is the shudder in second. Still under USED CAR 3000 MILE warranty. . While I don't know for sure, I think this truck may have experienced the sudden downshift to1st issue as several of the TSBs have mentioned. I DO KNOW it has had the driveshaft and center carrier bearing replaced with a used one. As of 2 months ago, it was up to date regarding flash for the sudden downshift to1st issue. There were a couple of versions.

The truck is currently my daily driver but I don't drive that much. It was specifically purchased as a tow vehicle for my 5200 (Gross weight as weighed at a local truck stop before a trip with full everything including people) travel trailer.

When under load (starting from a stop up a hill, with the trailer) first seems pretty good. Second shudders. It doesn't shudder going INTO gear (IE not the clutches), but once it gets into second and I continue accelerating it is a noticeable shudder. Again this is under load. When it gets to third, it is noticeable, but less. And in 4th 5th and 6th it appears to be unnoticeable.

The shudder feels VERY MUCH like I am driving over the rumble strip on the sides or centers of the roadways.

I have set the hitch up myself according to the manufacturers instructions. They call for measuring the amount of front and rear "sag/rise" when doing this, and they want the "after" measurement to be as close to the "before" measurement. In my case the difference was less than 1/2"...(lower).. Could this be significant enough to cause a "different" drive shaft angle and thus the vibration? I would think a lower body would be a lower angle thus less vibration, except for the static load of the trailer istelf.

It also shudders in second without the trailer but it is nowhere near as noticeable as with the load of the trailer. And this unloaded, (if I understand correctly) would be a HIGHER drive shaft angle.

Frankly, while this IS currently my daily driver, it won't be for much longer. It will be relegated to strictly a tow vehicle. I am not too concerned about the vibration itself, just the potential damage/breakdown, if any, by driving it in this manner.

Is it worth bringing this back to the dealer to have them look at it while still under warranty ? Or am I just barking up a tree with no squirrel?

Any thoughts suggestions or comments welcome.

Thanks.

Paul .../NH

 

Hello All,

I have the 2013 F150 and it Used to shudder, like you say. Then I had the Tranny (Reflashed) . This was under a Recall. Now it is perfect and seems a lot quicker.

John D.

 

In my 2010, I had shudder when I bought it at 3 years old, 27000 mi. The dealer horsed around reflashing the tranny, changed the pinion angle, swapped out the drive shaft, all to no avail. I took it and had a high quality transmission fluid exchanged in a machine. After that it was just fine..... until now. It’s back at about 68000 miles and 7 years later. I do some snow plowing in the winter (not a lot), so it is probably considered severe usage. It’s different now, because it does it at highway speeds or in town driving whenever there is a slight grade, but not enough to make it downshift. Previously, it seemed to be just in town. I was reading up on it and it seems that there may be a more current program for the transmission than when it was flashed in 2012. I’ll probably change the fluid again, even though Ford claims it’s 100000 mile drain interval.